J&K, UK space agency join hands on impact-based flood forecasts

“Having impact-based forecasts of flood risk will be useful for effective emergency planning for the administrative machinery”, says the LG

In a significant move to put impact based flood forecasting mechanism in place, the Union Territory of J&K is joining hands with UK Space Agency’s programme for collaborative project on 'Impact Based Flood Forecasting using Earth Observation (EO) based Information'.

Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha termed the Impact-based forecasting as the next step of flood forecasting services.

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“Having impact-based forecasts of flood risk will be useful for efficient, effective contingency planning and swift evaluation of severity for necessary response”, the Lt Governor remarked.

The Lt Governor observed that the international collaboration adds specific value in helping to analyze past flood events and identifying relationships between predicted floods and their impact.

The mechanism will predict impacts to people, their houses, crops, livestock, and transport routes, thereby mitigating many of the challenges people face during flood events, he added.

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A recent report has put India among the 10 most disaster prone countries in the world & ranked floods as a climate related hazard posing the greatest risk to the people. India has numerous flood forecasting systems that provide predictions of water levels and flows but not their impact in terms of loss of life, damage to buildings, critical infrastructure and agriculture.

In J&K, there is no effective impact based flood forecasting mechanism in place as such. It is a big initiative taken by the Hon'ble Lt Governor of UT of J&K and will help to predict fluvial flood risks, in terms of expected loss to life, injuries to people, building collapse, infrastructure disruption, and economic damage. The framework will be capable of being linked to any existing or future flood flow forecasting system. The UT Government will not have to bear any expenses on the project.

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The National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) is a new programme established by the UK Space Agency which supports collaborative projects between UK organisations and international partners. The project will be undertaken by HR Wallingford in collaboration with Oxford University, Sayers & Partners (SPL), and D-Orbit (UK).

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